Violet
by DovyWitch
Summary: A young alien travels to a faraway planet to escape tribulations at home but what happens in the longest distance between two places is no less than disturbing and soul-shattering...
1. Escape

**She stood at the helm, peering out her navigational screen silently. Suddenly, a horrid foreboding settled over her.**

**She moved to the communications unit nearest her. "Sparrow to Mother Bird. Come in, Mother Bird. Over." Ever since their decision to escape to Earth, they had been obsessed with using the names of Earthling birds.**

**The silence that followed did not soothe her nerves any.**

**"Come in, Mother Bird. Over." She waited a hesitant moment before continuing. "Mother Bird, are you there? Blue Jay? Cardinal?"**

**That was when she got an answer. "Cardinal here. Violet?"**

**"Sparrow, Red. Sparrow," Violet corrected.**

**"Who cares?" Red snapped. "We're in trouble over here. I'm about to set off the detonation system. Where have you been?"**

**"What does it matter?" Violet took a deep breath and continued. "What happened?"**

**"The Zhelmik happened. They invaded the ship, not seeing your section." Red sighed audibly. "I'm hiding." Then Violet heard a loud click. "I've set it off. Go! Oh, no! They heard it. Violet, go! NOW-" Red's demands were cut off suddenly, followed very closely by the sound of an explosion.**

**"Oh, Lady of the Seven Lands, I'm going to die," Violet sighed disconsolately.**

**At that moment, the navigational screen filmed over. The number 10 materialized over the film. That was when Violet began to truly panic.**

**{You will not die, dear one. You will leave. NOW!} The voice in Violet's head was calm and forceful.**

**A ball of light separated from Violet's body suddenly.**

**9**

**{We have to go. Gleam yourself!} the light ordered sharply.**

**8**

**Violet concentrated. Her life depended on this. So, she used her concentration as a lifeline.**

**7**

**Right after Violet reached the peak of her concentration, the light slipped back into her body.**

**6**

**A blue light spread over Violet's body, making her purple skin seem to be an oceanic turquoise color.**

**5**

**Violet glanced around nervously. Then she propelled herself upward.**

**4**

**She used her energy to spin the lock. Its pressure released, the "lid" popped open.**

**3**

**Violet flipped herself onto the outer shell of her small ship. The gleam over her body fed her oxygen until it wore down, so she could breathe. She shut the cover back, hoping to muffle the explosion as much as possible.**

**2**

**She ran the length of the small ship. Considering its size, it took her next to no time-literally.**

**1**

**Violet took a jump-dive off of the ship, the light inside of her pushing her farther than she should have gone.**

**Then the ship exploded with a loud, indescribable noise.**

**The flat end of a bit of shrapnel pressed against Violet's back, urging her more swiftly into the atmosphere of her destination.**

**_It was our destination,_ Violet thought sadly. Her mother and father-Maja and Ket, respectively-had decided just months ago that they were going to escape their planet, Talus. The Zhelmik Invasion nearly a whole _nadhye_ ago had overwhelmed Talus.**

**Violet couldn't believe that so much time had passed since Talus had been a free planet. She was the youngest in her family, and now she was going to be all alone on a foreign planet.**

**_Oh, Lady! I just realized-no Purplish has ever been to Earth. I'm the first._ That realization brought Violet even further into her depression.**

**Violet could no longer feel her gleam. She acknowledged that when she felt the hot shrapnel against what skin it was pressed.**

**All of the sudden, she hit a body of water. Just before she passed out from the contact and the temperature of the water, her mind voiced something with such fervor that every cell of her being vibrated with agreement.**

**_I hate the Zhelmik!_**


	2. Decisions

**Travis Michaels, a tall and dark brunette, shifted from foot to foot anxiously, his eyes glued to the skies. A friend that he had contacted with a special frequency that he could reach with his Microtel was arriving tonight. He was a Purplish and his name was Ket.**

**On Earth, it was the year 2250. Travis, being a historian, was proud of the accomplishments that the planet had made in the last two centuries or more. They had created transmitters that could be directed in any corner of the universe; it had taken a while before they could actually transmit outside of the galaxy. They had also created receivers as the years proceeded. Around 2099, they had begun to search for other carbon-bearing planets-"just in case". In the last century, the population had exceeded the liking of the Governments, and nearly half of Earth had been sent away in favor of colonizing nearby, livable planets. But Travis was still one of the first civilians to make contact with a sapient alien race.**

**Travis sighed and attempted to relax. His eyes still turned upward, he began to think. Ket never told Travis why he was so Hell-bent for going to and staying on Earth. Travis had decided to let it alone then, but now he severely wanted to know what was wrong, if something was.**

**Then there was an explosion. At least, that's what it looked like from Travis's vantage point. _An explosion in space,_ Travis thought. _How strange._**

**"OWEN!" Travis called for his nephew in a bellow. "Come on! Something's happening!"**

**A slender, brunette teenager erupted from the nearby house nearly two seconds later. He ran to his uncle and bent over his knees, trying to catch his breath. "What?"**

**"Look up," Travis commanded somberly. "Something's happening."**

**About five seconds later, a smaller explosion erupted, causing both Travis and Owen to gasp. Stunned, neither could move for a moment.**

**"I think that was Ket and his family," Travis told his nephew dully. "We should mourn them."**

**"Yeah," Owen agreed, blinking away the remains of sadness. "We should. Soon."**

**But their thoughts of bereavement were interrupted by a loud _splash_. They looked at each other and simultaneously ran for the large pond beside Travis's house. They stopped abruptly when they reached the pond's respective shore, Owen nearly falling in.**

**"What was that?" Owen asked his uncle breathlessly as he retreated.**

**Someone cleared her throat. "_That_ was I," a feminine voice intoned.**

**Travis looked up at the owner of that voice. It seemed to be a female Purplish. She looked like Maja, Ket's wife, except younger. She was climbing out of the pond, dripping water lavishly.**

**The Purplish took her pale blue hair in her hands and began to wring it out. She sighed at the hair and let it drop.**

**"What is your name, miss?" Travis asked softly. He glanced over at his nephew briefly and saw that the boy had his head tilted at the alien.**

**"Violet. Would you be Travis? Father said we were going to meet you." On the last sentence, Violet's tone turned sad.**

**"Yes," Travis answered. "Where are Ket and Maja?"**

**"And Red," Owen interjected softly.**

**"Th-they are not here," Violet answered numbly. A bright pink ball of light suddenly removed itself from Violet. "I am sad."**

**Owen stepped closer to Violet, wary of the floating light. "Why?"**

**Since Owen was the closest to the Purplish, she folded her arms around his neck. After a brief moment, she began to cry against his shoulder.**

**Travis noticed detachedly that the color of the light was quickly changing from bright pink to deep blue.**

**"They are in space," Violet said between bouts of hiccups. "Dead." She continued to sob against Owen.**

**Owen looked down at Violet worriedly. "What do I do?" he mouthed at his uncle. The Purplish was clinging to him like a lifeline, not that it was a bad situation.**

**Travis made a signal for Owen to follow him. Then the historian made his way back to the house.**

**"C'mon, Violet. We're going into the house," Owen told her softly. He led her to the house right after she responded with a faint nod.**

**For a moment, the light floated in the air. Then it shot into the house before the door could shut.**

****

**"Here, Dalla," Violet whispered softly. The detached ball of light shot into the Purplish's open palm.**

**Owen smiled at this. The Purplishes were alien, yet Violet seemed so human! Owen wanted to ask her so many things at once, but he allowed his uncle to question her first.**

**Violet stood gracefully, Dalla following her at a close distance. The long, flowing nightshirt that she now wore belonged to Owen. She was gratuitous for his generosity.**

**"I'll just put this in the dryer," Travis told Violet, picking up the wet jumpsuit out of which she had changed in favor of the dry nightshirt.**

**"No!" Violet shouted almost immediately after. She ducked her head, her shoulders slumping somewhat. "I am sorry."**

**A blond woman wandered into the room suddenly. "Is something wrong?"**

**Violet shrank into the shadows instinctively. It was an instinct of _halibs_ of hiding. She restrained from whimpering, but almost didn't.**

**Travis sighed, setting the jumpsuit back in its place. He nodded at Violet's shadows. "Come out, Violet."**

**Violet stepped out slowly, her wary eyes on the blonde. "Who is she?" the Purplish inquired softly.**

**The blonde yawned with a slight smile. "Hello, dear. How are you?" The blonde stepped closer to Violet.**

**Scared, Violet stepped back with each of the blonde's steps forward. "You scare me. Please, stop."**

**The blonde stopped abruptly, her lower lip trembling uncontrollably. "Travis, baby? Why?" She trailed off, not able to finish her sentence.**

**"Kelly, dear, you're scaring Violet. She doesn't know you," Travis told his wife slowly.**

**"Oh, I'll-I'll just go back to bed." She smiled warmly at Violet. "I'm sorry for frightening you. I hope you'll stay." Then she turned on her heel and left.**

**Violet looked over at Travis with a small smile peeking through. "She seems nice. I am sorry for disrespecting your spouse."**

**"You know Earth's language so well," Travis complimented Violet musingly. "But she didn't know. She'll get over it."**

**Dalla brightened slightly and hovered up and down repeatedly. Then it began to circle the jumpsuit in what seemed to be anxiety.**

**Travis smiled nervously at the ball of light. "Why can't I put your jumpsuit in the dryer? It needs to dry," the man admonished slightly.**

**"I know. And it is not a 'jumpsuit,' whatever that may be," Violet answered primly.**

**"A jumpsuit is a one-piece outfit," Owen offered. "Stretchy."**

**"Earth's version of a Witek-Suit, I presume?" Violet inquired. "That is what my outfit is. A Witek-Suit."**

**"What is a Witek-Suit?" Travis asked the Purplish warily.**

**"Can you excuse me for a moment?" Violet smiled when both nodded to her question. She turned to the hovering Dalla and her Witek-Suit. "Witek-Suit," she said, her voice suddenly hard and cold.**

**Then the Witek-Suit jerked upward. It floated stiffly in the air, saluted Violet, and then returned to its stiff upward posture.**

**"_Yalik_," Violet commanded sharply, a militaristic glint in her silver eyes.**

**The Witek-Suit inflated itself as if an invisible version of Violet herself was in the suit. A slight steam arose from the Witek-Suit suddenly, surprising Violet as well as the humans.**

**"It steams?" Violet inquired almost too softly for them. She turned back to the men. "That is the correct term, yes? Steam?"**

**"It hasn't steamed before?" Owen asked before he could stop himself. He smiled an uneasy grin at his uncle. "Sorry," he mouthed.**

**Violet ignored the slight exchange. "It hasn't," she confirmed. "On Talus, there is not gas." Violet's lips thinned slightly at her grammar, but then she shrugged. "And, since the Zhelmik Invasion, we had not liquid also. My Aunt Namari specialized in drilling deep into the ground of Talus to find life-water."**

**" 'Life-water'?" Travis echoed inquiringly.**

**"The liquid we need to live," Violet answered, waving off the question.**

**"Is it clear?" Owen asked, a smirk resident on his face.**

**Violet clucked her tongue. "Tsk. I know what you are thinking, but it is not." At Owen's downcast expression, the alien amended her sentence. "No, it is clear with a slight blue tint. But our studies did not go far enough to tell us if your water is also our water."**

**"Ohh," Travis and Owen murmured softly in unison, both in comprehension.**

**"Yes, well I must sleep. Do you have a spare room?" Violet asked with a tilt of her purple head.**

**"Yeah. I'll show you." Owen came up to Violet and took her by the elbow, showing her into their guest room.**

****

**Travis sighed happily, his eyes following Violet and Owen until they were swallowed by the darkness. His little fosterling of a nephew was growing up.**

**Dalla-that annoying ball of light-spun once around Travis's head and bopped the man on the forehead once for good measure. It made a frustrated hum and settled on hovering on Travis's eyelevel.**

**"What do you want, you-thing?" Travis spat at the light.**

**Dalla emitted a short, sharp hum. It began to glow a deep red and pulled away from Travis until it was nearly half a room away. It began to spin horribly fast and Travis was startled.**

**It spun and spun, faster and faster, until Travis couldn't take his eyes off of the glowing orb. As it spun, the orb began to lengthen and gain a humanoid shape. Seconds later, the spinning slowed and Travis noticed that the "orb" had now taken the shape of a teenaged male. Then, the-whatever it was flashed deep purple and stopped, its color dulling almost immediately.**

**Now that Travis saw Dalla-the new version of Dalla-he saw that the orb was actually a Purplish, a younger version of Ket. He was wearing a replica of Violet's Witek-Suit, which was still hovering in the middle of the Communing Room and steaming. The boy's blue hair was clipped into a crew cut but what Travis noticed most of all was the way Dalla was glaring at him with those silver, silver eyes.**

**"I am not a thing!" Dalla informed the human.**

**"I didn't mean it," Travis apologized, shrinking in on himself.**

**"It does not matter," a female voice could be heard saying then.**

**"You need sleep," Travis heard Owen say.**

**"You do not know what I need. Besides that, I want my Witek-Suit. And I will strain myself to get it," Violet told Owen sharply.**

**"Violet," Owen said, stating her name frustratedly.**

**Violet reentered the Communing Room and glanced over her Witek-Suit once. It was still steaming, but the steam was minimal. "Oh, it is not finished."**

**"Violet," Dalla acknowledged in a whisper.**

**Violet spun on her heel and smiled almost automatically. "Dalla!" she shrieked happily. She jumped over the table in the center of the Communing Room and hugged the Purplish formerly known as "Glowing Orb," bringing them both down in a crashing _thud_.**

**Travis turned to look at Owen and wasn't too surprised at what he saw there. Jealousy swam through the boy's eyes consistently as he glared at Dalla.**

**Dalla emitted a purring hum. "Violet, this is a compromising position," he reminded her happily.**

**Violet rose haughtily. "Dalla, you perverse-minded _byhul_!" she spat at the male Purplish.**

**"Violet, my sister, do not overreact," Dalla admonished softly, a hurt expression on his face.**

**Travis tilted his head to look at Owen again. The boy looked shocked, then smiled. All jealousy was removed from his eyes. Then his smile turned sad. "I thought you said your family was dead," Owen mentioned to the female.**

**"I had forgotten," Violet told Owen. "Dalla had been my friend and light-part of me-for so long that I had forgotten he was my double."**

**Dalla gasped indignantly. "You forgot me?"**

**"I did not forget you, dearest," Violet told her brother, hugging him briefly. "The Zhelmik had convinced my mind to neglect my original relationship with you."**

**" 'The Zhelmik'?" Travis echoed Violet, the second time that night.**

**Violet turned to her new guardian with a pleading expression in her silver eyes. "Can we finish this tomorrow? I am weary."**

**"As am I," Dalla said, slumping down and leaning on his sister. And at that moment, Violet's Witek-Suit stopped steaming.**

**"Oh, good." Violet sat Dalla back up to a standing posture and then hopped over the table to her Witek-Suit. She picked it up and frowned when it slumped over her.**

**Dalla emitted a giggle. "What's with your Suit?"**

**"_Rilt_, both of you," Violet commanded, her voice hard and cold again.**

**Dalla's smile disappeared and he straightened. "You've really mastered the commandant part, haven't you?"**

**Violet emitted a low growl deep in her throat. "Bed. Now." She tilted her head, daring her brother to rebel.**

**"Yes, ma'am," Dalla whispered with a faint nod. Then he skulked into the guest room.**

**Violet's hard expression melted away in favor of her more pleasant one. She turned to Owen. "Could you find a nightshirt for Dalla and give to him? Please?"**

**Owen nodded once and left.**

**"How did you do that?" Travis asked the female Purplish.**

**"Do what?"**

**"You know, the commanding your brother and then, even with your more pleasant visage, commanding my nephew?"**

**"Easy," Violet answered. "Experience." She smirked at the man before turning. "Kelly would probably say the same. Good night, Travis." Then Violet left for the guest room where Dalla had finished changing clothing.**

**Travis shook his head with an ironic smile and headed for his bedroom.**

****

**Dalla smiled at his sister as she waltzed into the guest room, her nightshirt fluttering slightly behind her. She sighed audibly and plopped down on the bed uncharacteristically disgracefully.**

**{Are you okay?} Dalla asked softly in his thought-voice to Violet.**

**{Not the best. But I am okay.} Violet lifted her feet onto the bed, her silver eyes pleading with her brother to sit beside her.**

**{You're sure?} Dalla sounded anxious as he sat down next to his sister.**

**{Gag me with a nelvik,} Violet spat. {I'm utterly sure. Let it alone.} Then she spontaneously hugged her brother tightly, taking in his warmth and safety. {I missed you.}**

**Dalla hugged his sister back willingly, oh-so willingly. {I know. As have I. You, I mean.}**

**Violet sighed. "Maybe we should try talking in their standard linguistics," she suggested, her brow furrowed somewhat.**

**"Uh why?" Dalla gazed at his sister, his pupils wide pools of lavender.**

**"That's not gonna work," Violet told Dalla. "I perfected that technique." She stated that sentence slowly, working her way through the words sharply.**

**"_Glaknos_," Dalla spat, slightly angry at his sister's superior tone.**

**"_Yanok_," Violet responded mockingly.**

**Dalla harrumphed, turning away from the Purplish that he happened to be a brother with.**

**"As for why, we need to know certain idioms for comprehension in socialization." Violet stuck out her blue tongue at Dalla's back.**

**Dalla turned around slowly. "Do we have to?" he whined in a low voice.**

**Violet sighed. "We don't have to now." Then Violet's silver eyes hardened, gleaming over metallically. "But we're going to in the morning," she told him, sharply poking his clothed chest with every word. "Okay?" she asked, her voice brightened again.**

**Dalla emitted a whimpering hum as he nodded.**

**Violet smiled and kissed his forehead softly. "Night," she responded before laying down and turning away from her brother, quickly slipping into unconsciousness.**


	3. First Day

**Owen woke early that next morning, heading straight for the refrigerator before all else. What met him in the kitchen, however, was surprisingly normal, considering the events of the night before.**

**A young teenaged girl with pale blue hair was peering into the refrigerator intently. She was wearing a long, shimmering, silver dress. Certain parts of the dress hugged her almost like a second skin and that left Owen in awe.**

**Violet turned around, marveling at the shade of her skin again. Much earlier that morning, she and Dalla had decided to keep their original hair color; in fact, the only characterization of their appearance that they had changed was the shade of their skin. Dalla was lying asleep with his head down on the kitchen table. She then smiled in her brother's direction warmly.**

**That was when she saw Owen.**

**He was dressed in very little. He was wearing a pair of cut-off shorts and a shirt that resembled the white nightshirts that he had given them for use the night before, except with the sleeves deleted? Violet shook her head and exhaled through her nose roughly.**

**"Violet?" Owen inquired softly. "Is that you?"**

**Violet gave the brunette teenager a lopsided grin. "'Tis I." She began searching the cabinets for glasses. She was going to wake Dalla again as soon as she could. He was still a little off on the linguistics, the lazy _yanok_. "It's something that our race adapted a couple of gens back. We can alter our appearance to the naked eye."**

**Owen emitted a querying sound, notifying Violet that he didn't understand the words that were coming out of her mouth very well.**

**"Well, it's like sending a projection. The eye takes in an image and sees it as is. A projection just alters what your eyes see-or rather how your mind perceives it." Violet turned victoriously, two glasses in her hands. "Understand?" she inquired, sauntering to the kitchen table soundlessly.**

**"I think so." Owen gathered the information in his head with an exhalation of breath. "So, you're saying that your projection alters how I see what you look like and I'm not seeing the 'true you', per se."**

**"Exactly." Violet sounded happy. She turned, a large carton of apple juice in her hand, and held it out to him. "Juice?"**

****

**Dalla stepped into the school reluctantly, his sister beside him. He saw dozens of people that were definitely not Purplishes and immediately turned on his heel. {I don't want to go.}**

**Violet gripped his shoulders in her hands, smiling a pleasant apology at Travis and the other onlookers. {You have to.}**

**{Why?}**

**{'Cause I said so.} Violet steered her brother back into the one-story building that Owen had referred to as a high school. Of course, Dalla was nervous, but Violet herself rather thought she was going to have fun.**

**Dalla harrumphed slightly and frowned at his sister. {Why do I have to do what you say?}**

**Violet smiled at her brother condescendingly. {Because I am your elder-}**

**{Only by two _quadrogueps_,} Dalla interjected.**

**Violet continued without missing a beat. {And if you don't do whatever I say, there will be chaos. Do you want chaos?}**

**Dalla shook his head sullenly and thinned his lips in a definite sulk.**

**"Children, this way," Travis said, directing his "newly adopted children."**

**"Oh, thank you, Travis," Violet said, turning in the direction that her "adoptive father" was heading.**

**Again, Dalla attempted to escape. Violet let go of his shoulder but caught him at the elbow. In turn, Dalla scowled at his sister.**

**"Come, brother dearest. We wouldn't want to keep the principal waiting." Violet then smiled and cocked her head at the dozens of humans. "And I'd rather not make a scene."**

**"Oh, fine," snapped Dalla, keeping the resident scowl upon his face.**

**"Yes, I thought that would be your reaction. Come," Violet instructed, releasing her brother. Dalla smiled and prepared to flee. "And if you run, I can't be responsible for what I do."**

**Dalla's shoulders slumped as he followed his sister. {Chop-chop,} she chimed into his head. Thus, he sufficiently quickened his shuffle. She responded with an exasperated sigh into the Purplish's head.**

****

**Violet followed Travis into principal's office-_Isn't that what he called it?_ -sure that Dalla was right behind her. After they entered, Violet collapsed gracefully into a nearby chair. _I miss my loufa chair,_ the female Purplish thought, remembering a large, round chair that resembled a bean-bag chair but was softer and felt very much like sitting on a cloud.**

**Dalla sat next to her in the last hard, straight-backed chair, wishing much to the same. He squirmed and then bestowed upon the bald man behind the desk in front of them a nervous smile.**

**Violet smiled up at the principal pleasantly. He was quite short-about 5'6", she estimated. His head was also completely absent of hair. But he looked pleasant enough with his dark blazer with a strange emblem on the front and a quite friendly smile upon his face. Violet felt a strange feeling overcome her, causing her smile to become a painful grimace.**

**Travis was the one that introduced them. "Principal Halliburt, this is Viola and Dallas Ilo. They are my new foster children. And they wish to have similar schedules."**

**Principal Halliburt-such as was his name-scowled slightly, casting his feelings about. Violet cringed internally but was brave against the tumultuous feelings. "I suppose that can be arranged."**

**"Why couldn't it be?" Dalla snapped in response. {Oops. I didn't mean to say that out loud.}**

**Principal Halliburt stood, bringing himself to his full height. But it wasn't his height that scared them-both Violet and Dalla were a head taller than the principal-but the intimidating energy that he emitted. Violet managed to not outwardly cringe, but she heard her brother's whimper very well.**

**A petite brunette walked up from out of the room. She touched the principal's shoulder. "Uncle Harris, I'm here for the tour."**

**The principal whipped his head in the brunette's direction with an audible _snap_. "No need," he spat.**

**"Uncle Harris, your blood pressure," the small brunette warned with a _cluck_ of her tongue.**

**"Sydni," the principal growled warningly.**

**"Principal Halliburt," Violet began, standing slowly and gracefully. The man's head whipped back in her direction with that same annoying _snap_. Violet grimaced automatically. "I'm sure we can work something out."**

**"Like what?" he growled. Violet cringed almost incomprehensibly. She needed to shift this conversation in a more positive direction.**

**Violet steepled her hands, a smile upon her face. "A compromise," she told him softly.**

**"Compromise?" the principal spat, purging out the word like an unwanted something.**

**Sydni smiled at Violet. "My name is Sydni Smith. My uncle doesn't compromise often," she informed the alien.**

**Violet smiled wickedly at the principal, though to the others her smile was almost shy and nervous. "Maybe it's time for a change."**

**Harris Halliburt squinted at the female of the obvious twins. For the first time, he noticed their eyes. Their eyes were completely silver orbs, if you discounted the lavender, pupil-like pools in the center. In fact, Halliburt noticed, everything about them seemed almost alien except for their skin, which also seemed almost unnatural. This discovery inadvertently forced the stout man back into his pleather chair.**

**Violet's eyes widened. She was surprised at how easily the man obeyed the request.**

**{Something seems wrong here,} Dalla told his sister with a thought-whisper.**

**{Ya think?} There was a mental sigh then. {I think I did the eye thing again. I swear, I didn't mean to.}**

**{You never do,} Dalla assured her with a physical smirk in her direction. She gave him a warm smile in return.**

**Violet then switched back over to Persuasive Mode. "Now, I've got an idea," she told the principal softly.**

**Halliburt was straining to gain the upper hand. This had never happened before-a future pupil had never gotten the upper hand against him. The principal had a sneaking feeling that it had something to do with her eyes. "Continue," he instructed in an almost even voice. Almost.**

**Violet leaned down to be at eyelevel with the sitting principal. "Well, you could give us the same schedule. Then you could send Dallas to class while I go on the miniature tour with Sydni. That a good enough compromise?" She smirked at the stout man.**

**Violet smirked internally as Principal Halliburt hurried to do just that.**

****

**Fifteen minutes later, Violet, Dalla, Travis, and Sydni erupted from the principal's office. Travis headed directly for the exit, leaving for work with a small smile over his shoulder at Violet and Dalla. Sydni waited against a nearby wall for "Viola" and "Dallas" to separate.**

**{Promise me you won't be in the least bit chaotic. This planet is not as lenient as Talus,} Violet commanded of her brother, gazing deep into his lavender-and-silver eyes. {Please.}**

**{I promise,} Dalla replied in an uninterested thought-voice, obviously not meaning it in the least bit.**

**A disappointed expression passed over Violet's face, making her lavender pupils widen sorrowfully. {Dalla}**

**{Okay, I really promise. I won't be disruptive until you come,} Dalla added with a smirk in the end.**

**Violet slapped the Purplish along the right side of his head with a soft smile. "Go on," she told him exasperatedly, pointing down the long hall to his next class.**

**He smirked wryly, rubbing his head gently, and made his way down the hall swiftly.**

**As Violet walked back over to Sydni, the brunette smiled at her. "So, Viola, what was that all about?"**

**As they walked down the hall, Violet shrugged her shoulders. "I guess you would say it's inexplicable. You know, we're twins."**

**Sydni laughed then. "Ohh," she replied in comprehension.**

****

**Dalla stepped into his assigned classroom timidly, for once wishing that he hadn't said what he did. He stood there, just beside the doorway, waiting for the professor to notice his presence.**

**The professor-a tall redhead of a woman, her hair pulled back into a tight bun at the base of her neck-squinted at Dalla. "Who are you?" she queried with a hard, cold voice.**

**Dalla held out the paper that Halliburt had told him to give to his teacher with a shaky hand. "H-here," he whimpered in a slighted voice.**

**The woman-Mrs. Gillian, Dalla remembered from his schedule-glanced over the paper quickly. "Dallas Ilo, huh? Where is your sister, Viola?" With the latter inquiry, the teacher looked up to gaze at Dalla with absolute scrutiny.**

**Spending so much time as the smallest ball of light that was also a part of his twin sister-such as in the way that twins are only parts of each other-Dalla had grown extremely coward-like. "She's with Sydni Smith." Dalla smirked, slipping into his Rebellion Mode. "On the Grand Tour."**

**"And I take you got on Halliburt's bad side," Mrs. Gillian suggested with the smallest of smiles.**

**Dalla brought one hand up to his chest, gasping in mock-surprise. "Exactly. And"-a pause. What was Violet's alias again? Oh, yeah-"Viola saved my hide, as always."**

**Mrs. Gillian smiled just a bit more widely at Dalla. "Dallas, I like you. Take a seat. We're working on quadratics today."**

**That's when it clicked-Dalla was in a mathematics class. Oh, happy day!**

**Dalla then slid into an empty seat that was directly behind Owen Michaels. Owen smiled at the alien slightly and began to speak when he was interrupted.**

**"Owen, no talking in class." Mrs. Gillian's clipped comment was accented sharply by a snap of her pointer rod. "Dallas needs to catch up."**

**Dallas raised his hand lazily. Mrs. Gillian gave him a slight nod, signaling him to continue. "Really, it's no"**

****

**" Problem," Violet told Sydni with a slight sniffle. "I need to talk about it."**

**"You mean, they really died. Ooh, harsh. What I meant to say was" Sydni trailed off, a grimace disgracing her face.**

**"It seems so sudden." Violet nodded. Sydni was handing Violet a silky tissue-one of the waves that they'd gotten called it a handkerchief. Violet wrung it in her hands, blotting at her eyes every so often. "It was, to tell you the truth. Two hours before, they were telling me to be careful while I drove. Then, there was a big explosion. I barely escaped with my brother's hide and mine intact."**

**"Harsh," Sydni whispered softly.**

**"I so agree," Violet replied.**

**They shared a companionable silence for a few moments as they walked down a long row of lockers. They stopped in front of a locker marked with the number 17. Sydni handed Violet a small scrap of paper with three different numbers on it. It took Violet a long moment to realize that she had to put these numbers into that little combination lock.**

**Opened, the locker was so empty. Desolate. So lonely. _It fits,_ the Purplish thought, sinking bit by little bit further into her depression.**

****

**Walking out of his math class, Dalla felt a little down. It was like there was this big giant hole in him that wouldn't heal. Someone tapped him on the shoulder suddenly, making him jump, separating him from his depression for a moment.**

**It was Owen.**

**"Dalla? Are you okay?"**

**Dalla sighed, smiling at the Caucasian boy slightly. "Yes. I am fine. I think something may be wrong with Violet, though. I wish I had time to see what's happening."**

**"Well" Owen considered for a moment. "What do you have next period?"**

**Dalla's currently human forehead wrinkled unpleasantly. "Let me see." He opened the cover of his folder and retrieved the paper with his schedule. "AP Computers," he answered slowly, deliberately.**

**Owen smiled a small grin. "Go find Violet and bring her back with you. I tell Mr. Medina you'll be a little tardy."**

**Dalla smiled a little. "Thanks, Owen," he replied in awe. Then he turned on his heel and headed toward the one place he figured his sister was likely to go.**

**The library.**

****

**The library.**

**Violet had always known that Earth's library were filled with lots of arcane volumes, not quite evolved to vidcubes. She knew, and she liked it. On Talus, books were converted to vidcubes and there was absolutely no physicality in reading them. They continuously scanned your mind to find your place, so that you wouldn't have the burden of clicking a button on the touch-sensitive screen. She'd always hated that.**

**She sighed, looking over at Sydni. The human girl couldn't know any of this, so she smiled wistfully.**

**"Something wrong?" Sydni inquired of Violet.**

**"Not really. Just wondering why there are so many books," Violet replied with a smile.**

**"Oh, I know." Sydni smiled, her eyes focused on a distant place. "Mr. Rygel-our librarian-won't allow Uncle Halliburt to convert them to vidcubes. Most of them are Rygel's books anyway."**

**"Sydni, are you going to patrol tonight?" a male voice inquired softly as he walked into the room. He saw Violet and began to sputter. "What I meant was-I mean- Oh, I give up," the librarian exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air.**

**Violet smiled a small lopsided smile, studying the librarian for a moment. He was wearing a pair of dark grey khakis and a crisp, white dress shirt, the cuffs of the shirts folded back to mid-forearm. His mouth was pulled into an annoyed expression. Violet would have giggled if she weren't as far as she was into her own depression.**

**Rygel cocked an eyebrow at the silent girl. "What are you looking at?" Then the library double-doors opened.**

**"Violet, are you in here?" a teenaged boy's voice called out.**

**{Dalla, there are people in here,} Violet hissed into her brother's mind.**

**{I apologize,} Dalla answered a bit quickly. {Are you okay?}**

**{We have company, Dalla dearest.}**

**{Fine.}**

**" 'Violet'?" Sydni echoed curiously, glancing warily between Violet, Dalla, and Rygel.**

**"Nickname?" Violet suggested softly.**

**"Unlikely," the librarian intoned suddenly. He walked up to her, and the Purplish's eyes grew wide and watery-though "watery" was not much of a change. "I think you are not what you seem."**

**"You-you don't know w-what you're talking about," Violet opposed the old man, her lower lip trembling slightly.**

**"There was an explosion in space last night, just out of our atmosphere. One being was monitored breaking through the breaches of the Governments' securities in the atmosphere," Rygel said, turning to Sydni.**

**"In space?" Sydni asked, looking to Violet as she caught the librarian's meaning.**

**A choked laugh broke out of Violet's mouth and she crumpled to the floor, weeping and muttering phrases in Talusese.**


End file.
